Chapter Text
Stalking.
It is defined as a pattern of unwanted behavior, directed at a specific person, which causes that person to change their routine or feel afraid, nervous or in danger.
Not Stiles, no. He felt... Curious.
I mean, the guy wanted something, clearly, but Stiles was slowly loosing his patience, and the tight control over his magic was slowly slipping for unknown reasons. Which only increased his curiosity! He couldn't really spread his magic and see if the guy was something, because Stiles' magic will certainly overwhelm him with too much information.
Instead, he decides to lay a trap.
Say, Stiles Stilinski knows that he has a special ability that no normal human has- Clairvoyance. The supernatural gift of seeing thigs beyond one's eyes, see in the past as a form of Retrocognition, in the future as a form of Precognition, the ability to see what is not physical, and so much more- Stiles has the ability of knowing as much as he wants to, and such thing came to be dangerous and very risky if Hunters find out about him as they could use him to track other supernatural creatures.
Stiles always knew of the supernatural, ever since he was 6 he has been having vision and seeing what is not there, he was diagnosed wth Schizophrenia, but his mother knew better. Stiles was magic, although a much more rare and unique magic than she was, but magic none the less. She taught him how to hide it, blame the Schizophrenia if anything happened and other people saw him speaking with someone who was not there and how to do more, how to protect himself from being seen by magic, which comes naturally to him because he is one in a billion when it comes to Divination Magic, being able to do so much more than any other person she knew- And then, tragedy struck.
He knew it would happen, and he foolishly thought he could stop it from happening, he saw his mother future and thought he could protect her, but he couldn't. He watched she burn, how they caught her, and how she used her last forces to send hin away so he would survive- He used all his knowledge and talent on Divination magic to know where to go for safety, and he followed where his magic said to go, he took Fate's hand and did not let go as he went from town to town, from city to city, alone and afraid, but knowing magic helped him survive enough to find a new home, and at the age of 12 he settled down on a small city known as Beacon Hills, it was quite quaint and simple in nature, but the place was enough for him. He made sure to live in incognito, secretly away in an abandoned shack in the middle of the woods for years, with his magic he could do a lot of things, but only if they were Divination based, other things such as making a shield of magic or setting fire to something was much more difficult to him, but he could still do with great effort. He can protect himself from Scrying, just like he can Scry on others he wants to- And such a thing was necessary.
After 8 years living in Beacon Hills, Stiles was somewhat of a known figure, he had his own stand on the Farmer's Market where he sold his work: Foraged things he finds on the forest and uses to make oils and perfumes his mother taught him how, just because you can't use offensive magic, doesn't mean you don't know how to protect yourself from danger! Stiles knew how to make a lot of spells, he could identify a lot of supernaturals based on their auras alone, and he knew enough of fighting to defend himself against threats such as Hunters, which he knew were a few in town- He could feel them, the blood on their hands cried louder than any other dead, they must've killed a lot.
With such a sharp perception of reality, of course Stiles noticed the pack of a mismatched supernaturals that were the owners and had claim over this land- He met their leader after all, him, a small and defenseless Omega was allowed to stay on the shack where he lived, since he was harmless! What damage could an Omega do? Stiles loves being underestimated, because when they are om the ground screaming with pain, he can laugh at their face as they have a slow and painful death. It has happened before, and it'll keep happening in the future. He isn't even surprised when a few lost Beta Werewolves tried to flirt with him, and when he rejected they lashed out just to end up on the ground, he enjoyed stepping over their disgusting bodies.
One of the things Stiles dislikes is surprises, most of the time they mean something is going to happen and he doesn't know what, and knowing things is what he does. However, he took notice pretty quickly of a pair of eyes that looked at him intently, as if they wanted to devour him, he looked over at the direction such eyes came from but he saw no one there, so he continued to leisurely stand by his stand, he had neatly made a flower crown with wild flowers he found on the Preserve, his short hair was a little messy but looked more like bed hair than anything, and as a single Omega he was very desired by the Betas and Omegas of this small town. The rest of the day he kept receiving the same intense look, but he felt it come from different directions each time which made him think it was probably some horny Alpha that wanted him, he knew how to deal with them: Kick 'em in the balls, and when they are moaning with pain, force one his special potions down their throat.
If Plan A doesn't work, he has plans from B to Z to get away and be safe, which is never enough for him.
But, recently his control over his magic was slipping off for some unknown reason, making him absorb information about things around him- This was a Psychometric spell, where when his magic touched something he could see memories this object has, like whoever touched it, or whoever made it and the object's story, he particularly lost control of his magic in the middle of Beacon Hills and his nose started bleeding when the overwhelming amount of information entered his mind, he saw so many things at the same time that his brain needed time to process it all, he has seen at least a few murders, mugging, or deaths related to the supernatural, but thankfully he managed to shake his head and keep his mind intact before he went back home and collapsed in pain, throwing up blood from the internat damages he had to redirect from his brain to the rest of his body, or else he would fucking die- His magic was trying to fimd something, and until he finds it, he will be loosing control over for some time.
Stiles smirked to himself- When he was younger, he loved to call his magic a 'Personal Google', because that's one of the things it does. It tells Stiles basically everything it can about an object or person, if resisted, the magic cannot tell him even one bit about what he seeks to know. And as a man of curious wonder, Stiles likes to know things.
Which is why he is frustrated, because he keeps feeling these eyes following him, watching him from afar, even when he's home. And even though his magic cannot find who it is- Like, it doesn't want to, it just doesn't!- his instincts and insight on how his instincts work make him believe the one who stalked him wanted to eat him. Either sexually or physically, maybe both, but he doesn't want to think about that much because the next Faire is going to start the next week and he wants to focus on his crafts because he'll have a tent where he'll act as a fortune teller that can look into the person's future, which may be confused as a gig since no one knows his real name and they all call him Stiles, and he's pretty sure he can feel danger a mile away from him so if Hunters come to town specifically for him, he'll deal with them.
So he did his best to ignore the one staring and instead focused on his craft- He wanted to give his 'tent' a more of a "wise old druid" vibes, so he decided to go for the greens and browns and have a costume, the utensil he'll use will be a black bowl with water that'll act like a mirror and show Stiles his reflection so he can focus and use Divination Magic. He doesn't know a really enormous amount of Divination spells, or spells in general, but his instincts guide him perfectly fine seeing as he could use even the most mundane plants to make the most unique potions thanks to the insight and information his magic provides him- It almost feels like some sort of Omniscience or derived from it, but he attributed it to being really good magic. "What'chu doin', Tiles?" An ethereal voice whispered from above him, making him smile and look up at the floating head before him, in fact, there were several floating limbs up to his ceiling, all looking broken and twisted into a mangled mess of flesh and bones and blood- It would make someone faint in fright, but Stiles just smiled at the familiar sight: "Hi Twiggy."
Twiggy was a tree-like humanoid spirit, she told him she came to life after the death of something really important to this land- The Nemeton, which made Stiles really curious about it, the day he asked Twiggy to being him there he used his magic on it and had a frightening vision of the future that he prefers not thinking about it, but the Nemeton was beyond his capabilities, but he knew he needed to do something about it, which was why every Sunday morning he would do one of the few rituals he knew: A cleansing ritual. His mother taught him such ritual so he could cleanse himself from the energy of the dead, because even though he wasn't a Necromancer, the dead liked him because he could see and speak to them way better than a Necromancer could- It also helped Stiles on not getting anything from other dimensions attached to him as well. It essentially got rid of the energies attached to something, and he has been doing this every single day for the last 8 years.
"Hi Tiles~" The creepy smile she gave him stretched far and wide, too far and too wide, breaking the laws of physics as it kept stretching until it hit the walls and pulled back as if made from rubber: "Hey Tiles- There's this really creepy dude watching you through the window." Stiles nodded and hummed, pulling the needle back as he sewed himself a green cloack, he just looked towards the window and said: "I know, can you do a little favor and scare him off, please?" The way her eyes glowed with glee of the opportunity to scare someone made him smile at the fact that they were friends, because she was fun sary to him but to others she was scary scary, which made sad because all she wanted was a friend! Her long hair came to her face like a veil as she phased through the wall, he watched a little from afar as he heard the trees creek and crack, the wind was howling loudly, almost like a screaming woman, and then- Silence. After a few seconds, she came back, giggling to herself in a wailing and creepy way, thousands if not millions of voices continued to laugh alongside her own.
Like they were part of her.
"I gave him a large spook!" She sounded as gleeful as a child, but this childish ghost tree abomination was his best friend and one of the things that kept Alphas that didn't know how to take a no for an answer away. She loved scaring them away from him, and he loved her scaring them away from him because otherwise he'd have a body to bury- another one to the count, well, at least that guy no one will miss right? After all, when an asshole with a gun hunts down you for being a magic user, you tied him up and sets him on fire like they did to your mother. "Thanks Twiggy, always love it when you scare them away." A scary tree ghost was always a good friend to have, or a friend that looked scary, because not only are the lonely (Which isn't a good thing, because loneliness isn't good on anyone) but they are also scary which keeps those unwanted away from him! Which, is really useful and good.
"Hey, wanna see this cool rock i found?"
"Sure."
Derek Hale didn't know how to react to that-
First, being a Werebear adopted to a family of Werewolves was awkward, because while he was climbing up trees and not knowing how to get down, his siblings were running around, and although he is surprisingly fast to his rather chubby bear form, he didn't enjoy running as much as he enjoyed sitting down and watching the scenary because it was beautiful. Just like other bears, he had that sense of wonder that made him want to immortalize that beauty of nature, which made him grow up as an artist by heart and love because his artwork was filled with emotions he struggled to show- Love for his family even though they didn't understand each other on instinctual level, wonder for nature and the beauty it hides and shows, anger, rage, sadness, happiness, and almost all emotions Derek Hale struggled to show were expressed through his art.
But he never felt love- I mean, sure, he has had sex before, an Alpha as attractive as himself tended to catch the attention of every Beta and Omega, and even other Alphas that wanted a piece of him, and when he was up to it he made sure to make them unable to walk afterwards because not only was he a Werebear, famous for their aggressive nature, but he was also an Alpha, which were known to be... Breeders. Derek hated that description, because it didn't picture the image he had of Alphas, what they are meant to be: Protectors, leaders, those who bear the weight of the responsibility of their pack and provide, keeps them warm and cozy in the middle of a snowstorm using their own body as a shelter if necessary. It might be misogyny, but he learned from early how Omegas are more fragile and need to be taken care of, or at least, observed to make sure they aren't going to get hurt- His father, mated to his mother, was really against many things she taught them seeing as she was an overbearing Alpha and he was a though and independent Omega that made others really scared for their lives.
I mean, if had hurt one of his children, he would break everything you love and make your life a living hell before locking you away, making you live a life of misery compared to the sweet relief of death.
Because Omegas are scary when their kids are hurt.
Derek had gone abroad for his Art Major and English Major, his family had money so he could afford it, sadly but that's the reality of the world. Only rich people can afford to have their son go to art school! And at least he got a few millions for every painting he made, he became one of the most famous Hales, soon his sister Cora and Laura followed as Laura went from a really popular singer in a band to a solo career that was going extremely well, meanwhile Cora had finished her Major in Biology and was developing a few new medicines for some kind of bacteria, his brother Brett was a lawyear and the youngest just got to High-school and was a bit rebelious but Derek understood, being the only human and Omega of a family of Were creatures (Besides their father, but apparently he didn't count) was rough since every saw him as fragile and should he protected at all times, so he was quite the rebellious one! Just in Sophomore, but had gotten in more fights than Derek when he was his age.
He went back to Beacon Hills after he finished his last painting and sold it off for about 50 Million Dollars to a collector, he just pocketed the money and flew back, he was bored because inspiration didn't hit him hard enough in the head for him to want to stay and paint more things on Italy, so he came back to California. He came a few weeks away from the Faire of Beacon Hills where they would have a festival held to honor the history the city had, it was founded on blood between two clans that came from Europe, the Hales and the Houndsburg, but of course the mundane side of the world didn't know about the fact that both families were Werewolf familes that fought for the land they both set claim on, but the Hales won and then the land became theirs, many Hales since then died for the land to protect it, and many more were born there- Although not by blood, Derek is a Hale, as everyone is when they enter the Hale pack. They don't receive the Hale surname, but they are part of the land as the land is their by blood and oath.
But a week after he returned, Derek was dragged by both his sisters to go out there to the Farmer's market because there was a lot of natural things, a city closest to Beacon Hills had some farms and they had many farmers who went to Beacon Hills to sell their stuff, so it was fresh and so much better than the things that were sold off on supermarkets and Werecreatures loved them because they tasted so much better and Derek agreed- Things coming directly from nature tasted so muh better. "Why do i need to come too?" He always sounded gruff, even when he didn't meant to, but his sisters knew him and they knew how unable he was to express his emotions with words instead of paintings or text- Oh, by the way, Derek's also a famous author, even though most of his books are sold under the pen name Wulfric Wolf, which was something he found good enough. "Because, Der-bear, it's time you left the house!" Laura, the ever so famous Laura, was barely recognized as she wore the bracelet that made them very uninteresting to anyone who looked at them, magic was just that convenient! Derek and Cora also had them on, seeing as they were as famous as she was, maybe Derek was even more famous if you count the books he wrote.
"And also, we need to make him meet Stiles!" Ah, a name he has heard before many times when the family talked about Beacon Hills, apparently he was some kind of guy that lived in the Preserve, and his family was obsessed with him. Stiles was someone that has been living on the woods for some years now, a lot of the pack's members loved him and they all said he knew they existed and he was funny, even the youngest Hale, the Hale Menace known as Michael was enthralled with Stiles to such degree that he loved the man, they didn't visit his home because Deaton said the Preserve's personification loved him so much that it was protective of him, keeping away others from him. Well, others who weren't Hales had it worse, while the Hales were able to get off with a warning other had their bones broken or lost at least a limb because of the Personification of the Preserve, a really powerful spirit. He expected him to be a powerful sorcerer of some kind, but when he saw him- Derek's inner bear was more than allured, the giant brown bear was caught by the snout at the almost obscene amount of scents his bear absolutely loved, and for the first time Derek's bear felt the sense of beauty he felt for nature, but to this man.
Beautiful eyes, dimples on his face, moles on his exposed neck and a beautiful smile on his face- His eyes carried a beautiful glow, his smile shamed the sun for its brightness and his very presence made Derek want to sit down and admire him from afar for hours and hours, just like he has done for many sceneries before, but they all paled in front of his beauty. His glow was brighter than the sun, his eyes were a color Derek didn't even fathom to ponder how deep they went, he just wanted to swim in them, they were precious jewels that he just wanted them staring at him. He wanted to devour him, defile him, possess him, take him, hold him and never let go- Because that man, Stiles, was his Soulmate.
And Derek Hale didn't know how to react to that other than panick.
First off, he isn't a social butterfly like Laura or Cora, nor had he any social abilities like Brett or Michael, he had negative social skills.
That's how bad he is at talking to people- Plus, unlike a wolf who first thought would be to court their Soulmate by bringing them prey to show them how they can provide for their Mate, but a Bear? A Bear first watches their Mate from far away, admiring their beauty, and then they get closer, so Derek just watched from afar, hiding when he saw his Mate looking at where he was but a few seconds ago. His sisters obviously saw it, he ignored their confused looks as he hid, watching the man with such a sense of beauty that Derek just wanted to sit down and observe him, watch his beauty and bask in the glory of his glow. He felt his muscles relax and melt, his tensed jaw loosened and the tongue leaving the roof of his mouth, he felt his shoulder slack and they loosened as well, he felt calm and relaxed as he watched him- The other half of his soul, smile at a costumer, but Derek's horny thoughts didn't stop at all as was both his and his own bear's horny thoughts, since they haven't had sex in... Almost two years now? Yeah, neither Derek nor his bear had felt any sexual desire to anyone, so he always rejected those who wanted a good time with him, and now it made sense-
He had a Soulmate.
But wait- How is he gonna talk to him, fuck, talking to him!? He groaned internally when he thought how he is going to do such a magical feat, he had his fears heightened when he thought how he would even court him to begin with, imagining more lewd things felt more like fantasizing than reality, so he snapped out of it. And what he did? Simple! He turned to his sisters, his best puppy bear eyes, he made the same noise a bear cub would make to their mother, showing how desperate he truly was: "Help." Was all he said before both super protective she-wolves dragged him back home while demanding him to explain, but Derek said he'd tell the whole family so they could give him advice on his problem, thankfully today was a Saturday- well, every Saturday is Farmer's Market day, so everyone was home! Immediately though, he saw how his mother smelled and felt his distress and anxiety because the whole family was protectively hovering closely as his mother checked on him, he couldn't speak properly because he kept making the same distressed bear noises that made his mother even more anxious, the whole damn pack was anxious! Derek normally didn't lose his cool like this, which meant it was something serious!
He hasn't had a crise like this in a long time, last time it was something silly but really important to Derek, his favorite toy bear buddy named Reginald had disappeared and no one could find it, they looked everywhere but it was like it simply vanished! No one knows where that thing went even now.
"Derek dear, talk to me." His mom held his face on both her hands as he made distressed noises, until she did what always calmed him when he was small- She pressed their foreheads together and sang a small melody without words, soft and sweet and short, but enough to make him calm enough that words could get through: "What am i going to do... I can't even talk to other people, how the fuck am i even going to properly court him mom?" There was a raised eyebrow in every single Were that heard his whisper- D-does this mean what they think it does? "Stiles, he's my Soulmate." Derek pressed his head on his mother's neck, just because he isn't a wolf doesn't mean he didn't get some of their behaviors! He almost imitated a whine like he used to when he was small, instead he let out this raspy hum of distress and anxiety: "Derek dear, this incredible!" Everyone was either amused, excited, happy, surprised, confused, a combination of such emotions, or all of them at the same time! Because Derek? Derek fucking Hale, who couldn't talk to a fly if he didn't know it since his birth, got a Soulmate like Stiles, who speaks so much you wish you could rip the ears out of your head?
They are a perfect match.
They are literally made for each other!
"Oh well, guess he'll finally join our family." Peter liked Stiles because he was witty, extremely witty and surprisingly wise for someone his age! He and Peter got along well enough for Peter to offer to mate with him, but Stiles laughed it off and recused, it was awkward for a while but they're still good friends so it's good between them. Cora also wanted him once, but Stiles was very much gay and told her so when she showed even the tiniest growth of love in her eyes, putting out the flames quickly so they never spread, like taking off a band-aid quickly. "Fucking lucky." Cora sighed- Oh well, if her brother is in Stiles' hand, then it'll be the best for him! His brother is calm, silent, amd observing, while Stiles is loud, chaotic, and obserbing! They are each other's opposite but completely complete each other in such a way that it seemed like they were made for the other in the tiniest details. "But mom- I don't know what to do!" Seeing her poor pup anxiously trying hard to think of what to do, she decided to go with the answer for many questions Derek had-
He wasn't a wolf, so most things didn't apply to him, and she knew that the answer to most questions he already knew but didn't trust it much- His instincts. "Well Der, just follow your instincts are telling you, you will be fine, everything will be fine." She saw how her son nodded and let out a sigh, trying to calm down his anxiety, which worked because the scent of anxiety slowly went down a notch and his heartbeat slowly slowed to the point where it was normal again. "Now, go and do whatever your instincts are telling you to do. Everyone will stay here, okay?" He nodded, she heard the reclamation from Laura barely leave her lips before she looked right at her with a blazing gaze, her poor anxious little bear didn't need this teasing now!
They can tease him later.
As they watched Derek leave through the front door to do whatever his instincts told him to do, Talia heard Peter say: "Remember that time you told Derek to follow his instincts and he almost set fire to the house?"
This wouldn't be like that time she jokingly told him to follow his instincts when it came to cooking.
That was one mistake that wouldn't be repeating itself.
She hopes.
Okay, maybe watching from afar wasn't the answer.
As Derek felt this dreadful feeling creeping up his spine he took a few steps away from his watching point, he has been sitting here just watching that small wooden shack in a complete daze, almost not blinking at all as he kept his focus on the shack- He wanted to paint it, he really wanted to paint it, fuck! He should've brought his painting materials! His face kept its incredible frozen and emotionless mask, he was the best at poker at home, after Peter of course, since the asshole knew how to lie Werewolves but Derek couldn't even lie to a kid if it asked if he was a pink elephant with wings. He would just say no and move on with his life, he also made the kid cry for some reason, so there's that too- Bad with Kids! He just wanted to get close enough to scent mark him discreetly, but he was feeling really creeped out, so he followed his instincts and left, but not before scent marking his way back to town.
The next day, he promised himself, the next he would definetly talk to Stiles- But about what!? He didn't know what he liked, he didn't know his age, he didn't know his sexuality, he didn't know if he was taken, single, entangle, in a complicated relationship!? 'Fuck-' he was overthinking again wasn't he? He simply tried to focus on one thing- What did Stiles like? He doesn't know. Then who knows? Laura, Cora, Peter, and the others. He should ask them? Not Peter, neither Erica or Laura. Cora, Boyd, Isaac, and maybe Scott will tell him, but in case things get dire, he'll ask mom about it, maybe dad since he is human? Then, as last option, he could always offer to pain Lydia to get her that information! She'd do anything for him to paint her, which is something weird to him- his art isn't even that good? Yeah, he doesn't really understand what is all the fuss about it.
Once he arrived home, he had a plan in mind- Watch Stiles.
That's what he's going to do. Watch and learn more about him so then he can approach him and speak to him.
Okay, sounds like a good plan, right? Like dad always says: "Always know your enemy before striking. If you know your enemy and know yourself, you do not need fear a thousand battles." But Stiles isn't his enemy, but the same rules applied! If he knew enough about Stiles, he could then see what interests they share and make a detailed sheet of information he could share with Stiles without compromising the pack since he is technically an outsider.
And the last thing he wants to do is harm his family- And Stiles, who's going to, hopefully, be part of his family. Derek's forehead hit another branch as he walked past the the trees, his hulkig form accidentally knocked over a dead tree, it cracked loudly against the quiet night, scaring away some animals and almost giving Derek a heart attack. He huffed annoyed and shifted into his brown bear for, being a 6'8 guy isn't easy- I mean, he is large, really broad shoulders and large muscles, maybe he can seduce him with his body? No- Bad idea. He isn't shameless enough for that!
Derek Hale kept walking, unaware that his Soulmate was, at that moment, thinking how to deal with him in case he kept stalking him.
But oh well, soon they'll learn-
Derek will learn his mate is scary, and Stiles will learn that a 6'8 mass of pure muscle chiseled hunk with a lot of hair on his body can be cute.
[To Be Continued?]